John Wheeldon

John Murray Wheeldon (9 August 1929 – 24 May 2006) was an Australian federal politician and briefly a minister. He is mainly notable for his views on Australian foreign policy.

Wheeldon was born in Subiaco, Western Australia and educated at Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia. He graduated in arts and law and then worked as a solicitor. He was later President of the Western Australian Young Liberals, but resigned in protest at Robert Menzies' attempt to ban the Communist Party of Australia.cite web
last = Minchin
first = Nick
authorlink =Nick Minchin
title =Condolences: Hon. John Murray Wheeldon
work= Hansard
publisher = Parliament of Australia
date = 13 June 2006
url = http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=2340129&TABLE=HANSARDS
accessdate = 2008-01-08 ]

Political career

At the 1964 half-Senate election, Wheeldon was elected to the Australian Senate, representing the Australian Labor Party. His term commenced on 1 July 1965. He strongly opposed the Vietnam War and (though no supporter of Communism) visited North Vietnam at the invitation of the North Vietnam peace committee, while Australia was involved in fighting in South Vietnam. In 1967, he spoke against the war in the United States with Jim Cairns.According to Senator John Faulkner, Wheeldon "... showed real passion for the causes he believed in: his opposition to the Vietnam War, his support for the independence of East Timor, his abhorrence of apartheid and his deep concern about Soviet imperialism."cite web
last = Faulkner
first = John
authorlink =John Faulkner
title =Condolences: Hon. John Murray Wheeldon
work= Hansard
publisher = Parliament of Australia
date = 13 June 2006
url = http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=2340141&TABLE=HANSARDS
accessdate = 2008-01-08 ]

Wheeldon was appointed Minister for Repatriation and Compensation in June 1974 in Gough Whitlam's third ministry and was responsible for implementing Whitlam's ambitious plan to establish a national compensation scheme. In addition, he was appointed Minister for Social Services in June 1975 when Bill Hayden was appointed Treasurer. Both appointments were terminated by the dismissal of the Whitlam government in November 1975.Nevertheless Wheeldon remained a senator until 30 June 1981, having chosen not to contest the 1980 election [ [http://www.aph.gov.au/library/handbook/historical/senate/rae.zeal.htm Parliamentary Handbook] ] .

Wheeldon was chief editorial writer for "The Australian" newspaper from 1981 to 1995. In addition, he sometimes wrote articles for the monthly magazine "Quadrant" and other periodicals.

He died at his house in Sydney, survived by his wife, Judith (headmistress of Abbotsleigh School for Girls, 1996–2005), and a daughter and two sons from his first marriage.cite web
last = Chris
first = Evans
authorlink =Chris Evans (Australian politician)
title =Condolences: Hon. John Murray Wheeldon
work= Hansard
publisher = Parliament of Australia
date = 13 June 2006
url = http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=2340133&TABLE=HANSARDS
accessdate = 2008-01-08 ] cite web
last = Beazley
first = Kim
authorlink =Kim Beazley
title =Condolences: Hon. John Murray Wheeldon
work= Hansard
publisher = Parliament of Australia
date = 30 May 2006
url = http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=2583221&TABLE=HANSARDR
accessdate = 2008-01-09 ]

Notes

Persondata
NAME = Wheeldon, John Murray
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH = 9 August 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH = Subiaco, Western Australia
DATE OF DEATH = 24 May 2006
PLACE OF DEATH = Sydney